Am I crazy to think…

That Terrence Jones should be considered a top-5 pick? This is one of the most loaded drafts in memory – maybe the most loaded at the top prior to the start of the season in most of our basketball-following lives – with Davis, Drummond, Barnes the fairly clear top three, with Sullinger and Perry Jones just outside and then McAdoo, Miller, Lamb and Robinson headlining a strong list of wild cards.

After Davis, Drummond, Barnes and Sullinger (let me rephrase, per my personal ranking: Barnes, given the dearth of talented young wings in the league, then Drummond, Davis and Sullinger), I think Terrence Jones should be in pole position as the 5 guy. I don’t want to write ten pages comparing him to everyone else in his range so I’ll just focus on Terrence Jones and hopefully that will be sufficient.

For the record, I don’t think any of the guys that I just mentioned are overrated. I just think Jones is underrated.

After the first two or three weeks of the season I thought Terrence Jones should’ve been the #1 pick in the 2011 Draft and after his bulking up/natural development/maturation, there’s no reason to believe that he can’t be that blue chip prospect for a full season. That #1 ranking naturally changed when he entered SEC competition, but man was he just freaking impressive, which brings me to a brief analysis of his strengths. Jones measured 6-9/252 at the Amare camp, and ESPN lists his wingspan at 7-3. He handles the ball like a guard and is an extremely adept three-point shooter for a young guy his size. His dribbling ability forces his man to give him space, which is then especially dangerous given his size and court vision. He’s an elite defender, averaging 1.9 blocks and 1.1 steals last year, a great sign of natural aggressiveness, and his 8.8 boards are extremely impressive for a freshman forward in the SEC. He can guard at least three positions comfortably, with the potential to guard four. He’s a great team player and a winner. He’s a high character guy. He’s fearless but at the same time very unselfish and has a very high bball IQ. His amazing size for the wing, or PF if he has to, is one of the most underrated qualities of any potential prospect in the 2012 draft. He’s a pre-season First Team All-American even given Kentucky’s boatload of talent.

You could run off the same list of accolades about, again, any of the guys I just mentioned, but I think Jones, despite not admittedly having a superstar ceiling, is the best of the bunch.

The knocks on him are that he isn’t a 10/10 athlete and his foot speed isn’t elite. The same could be said of the oft-compared-to Lamar Odom, who compensates with his size, versatility, calculated movements within 20 feet of the basket and general smoothness.

Lamar Odom Freshman Season at Rhode Island:

34.9 mpg, 17.6 ppg, 9.4 rpg, 1.5 bpg, 0.8 spg, 48.2% FG, 33% 3PT

Terrence Jones Freshman Season at Kentucky:

31.5 mpg, 15.7 ppg, 8.8 rpg, 1.9 bpg, 1.1 spg, 44.2% FG, 33% 3PT

And let’s not forget, Jones played in the SEC. Oh, and he also helped carry them to the Final Four. Was he somewhat disappointing in the tournament? Sure, but for someone who played most of the year at age 18, he was still impressive and you could make the argument that he just as much as Knight (especially considering his versatility and defense) was the one most responsible for getting them there. 

What could really hurt him and prevent him from rising this year is his potential not as a player, but as a star in college basketball. Harrison Barnes could average 21 points and lead UNC to a national championship. Drummond could average 17 and 10 and 2.5 blocks and anchor a UConn title team. Davis could be the most exciting player in the country and will undoubtedly steal a lot of Jones’ thunder. Sullinger, who knows, could average 25 and 13 and win OSU its first title in 50 years.

Jones is the one most likely to be overlooked. With the talent that Kentucky has and Jones style of play, which, like Odom’s, is not he dominant kind, there’s virtually no chance of him becoming a household name. With lightning quick show runner Marquis Teague, fellow lottery hopeful Dorom Lamb, highly regarded do-it-all wing Michael Kidd-Gilchrist and odds-on top pick (depending on who you ask) Anthony Davis, Jones’ numbers might even take a dip from last year, but that shouldn’t let one’s opinion of him as a prospect be dimmed.

Since he made the mature decision to return to school, I think it’s weird that I’m the only one suspicious as to why his stock hasn’t risen. When he measured that big at the Amare camp and in even better shape, eyebrows should have been positively raised. In Kentucky’s Big Blue scrimmage he scored 52 points and grabbed 16 points and while yeah, it was just a scrimmage, it was also just a scrimmage for the other 4 potential lottery picks on Kentucky’s roster. I think this year we are going see Jones take his game to the next level. Cliché as that may be, I really believe he will.

 As Jones demonstrated as one of the big three freshman on Kentucky’s Final Four team, he doesn’t need to be dominant to play up to his potential, but he certainly can when you want him to and when he does he’s practically unstoppable, especially when hitting from outside. He’s not “closer to 6-7” like some thought, but a rock solid 6-9 with a 7-3 wingspan making him physically comparable to any of the best SF/PF prospects in the big leagues today. 15.7 points, 8.8 rebounds and 1.9 blocks as a freshman for a power conference Final Four team qualified him as one of the best freshmen in recent years. I believe he could be the next Lamar Odom if not even better. Right now, for example, the Kings have the 5 pick in next year’s draft; the Nets, Pistons, Clippers, Bobcats and Bucks pick 6-10 and all the same glaring need: help at the three position or a guy who can play the three and four. With Drummond, Davis, Barnes and Sullinger off the board, I want Terrence Jones for any one of those teams. He’s arguably the most versatile of all the elite prospects, a great defender, has the size to compete with anyone and an extremely underappreciated skill set, and still just 19, he’s a proven winner.